In Mosul, Reports Of An Execution, Repression, Garbage-Filled Streets

In the latest edition of its English language magazine, "Dabiq," the Islamic State group made a point of emphasizing claims that it is taking care of civilians in the Iraqi and Syrian towns under its control.

However, a very different picture is emerging of conditions in Mosul, the town in Iraq’s northern Nineveh province seized by Islamic State gunmen in June.

Though "Dabiq" magazine claims that Islamic State is providing cancer treatment for children in Nineveh province, and street-cleaning services throughout the areas it controls, Mosul’s streets are filled with garbage and have not been cleaned since the militants overran the city.

An RFE/RL correspondent reported on October 14 that civil services in Mosul remain "almost nonexistent" with the city's streets strewn with rubbish, and municipal workers slow to clean up the piles of trash.

There are also reports of oppression against Mosul residents by Islamic State forces in the city.

Islamic State militants are refusing to allow students from the city to travel to Kirkuk to take exams, RFE/RL’s correspondent said. The militants fear that the students might join anti-Islamic State resistance camps outside the city. Islamic State only allowed students who were able to provide a guarantor of their return to travel to Kirkuk.

Islamic State militants are also persecuting journalists in Mosul, the correspondent said.

On October 13, Islamic State personnel in Mosul kidnapped several journalists and have announced that one reporter, named as Muhannad Al-Ugaili, has been executed by the group.

A press statement by the Kurdistan Democratic Party said that the journalist had worked for the SADA press agency.

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"Under The Black Flag" provides news, opinion, and analysis about the impact of the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria, Iraq, and beyond. It focuses not only on the fight against terrorist groups in the Middle East, but also on the implications for the region and the world.